Editor's Note

The Charge

How Far Would You Go to Protect What's Yours?

Opening Statement

"You came into my house. You touched my child. You think you're crazy?
I'll show you crazy. Just try me, bitch!"

Facts of the Case

Derek Charles (Idris Elba, The Office) is a happy, successful man. He
and his beautiful wife Sharon (Beyonce Knowles, The Pink Panther) have just moved into
a new home, and Derek's job at a major law firm seems to be getting better every
day. La-dee-da. One day, Derek's assistant gets sick and is replaced by a temp.
The temp's name is Lisa (Ali Larter, Heroes), a blonde bombshell who
seems to get particularly flirty whenever she's around Derek. Her attempts to
woo him grow increasingly intense as time passes, but Derek is having none of
it. He cares too much about his marriage to throw it all away for the sake of a
little fling. He rejects Lisa in no uncertain terms. Lisa responds by quitting.
Problem solved, right? Not so fast. Several months later, Lisa strikes with a
vengeance. She begins to stalk Derek, sending him dirty e-mails and calling his
home. The longer Derek refuses to submit to her, the more intense her tactics
become. If he doesn't give in, will she destroy his life and his family?

The Evidence

As many others have pointed out, Obsessed is essentially a remake of
Fatal Attraction with a few
negligible plot variations. Much like that film, it's also a ridiculous slice of
cinematic trash. The only real difference is that this one received poor reviews
while Fatal Attraction received lots of Academy Award nominations.
Truthfully, Obsessed is roughly even with that so-called
"classic" both in terms of craftsmanship and believability. In other
words, it's silly entertainment at best and irritating foolishness at worst.

The film was promoted as a "catfight" movie of sorts, as the
trailers hyped up the third-act conflict between Larter and Knowles. If the idea
of two women scratching and clawing over a handsome man sounds somewhat sexist,
that's exactly how it plays in the film. Lisa is a woman who completely
embarrasses herself in almost every way possible in a shameless attempt to get
Derek in her bed. Every minute of every day revolves around Derek for her. There
is no limit to how far she will go in terms of manipulation both sexual and
emotional. On the other side of things, Sharon is a needy, overly dependent
woman who demonstrates paranoid behavior at all times. If Derek ever interacts
one-on-one with another woman under any circumstances, Sharon becomes suspicious
and angry. Yeah, these gals aren't exactly shining beacons of feminism.

Elba is a rather stellar actor who does what he can with the role, but his
performance seems to suggest more intelligence than the script allows him to
demonstrate. His commitment to his wife is admirable, but there are about two
dozen moments over the course of the film in which he fails to tell someone
about the crazy things going on in his life. If he had only been bright enough
to do so, this whole mess could have been avoided. Then again, if he had been a
bit brighter, I suppose we wouldn't have had this movie. I just can't help but
think that this sort of film would be a bit more engaging if the protagonist
were genuinely capable of thinking rationally through each situation. The fact
that so much of what happens here is reliant on Derek's stupidity is
frustrating.

Everything climaxes in a glorious/headache-inducing display of preposterous
behavior that once again echoes Fatal Attraction. Without wanting to
spoil what happens, suffice it to say that a toddler is stolen, trips to the
hospital are made, there's a great big battle inside the Charles family fortress
and a chandelier crashes. While director Steve Shill is able to bring a slick
professionalism to the proceedings, the weaknesses of the script simply can't be
overcome by polished production values. Fine supporting actors like Bruce McGill
and Christine Lahti are welcome presences, but they aren't given enough screen
time to make much of an impact.

The standard-def transfer is a rather good one for the most part, offering
the muted color palette with clarity and depth. Some of the really dark scenes
suffer from a lack of definition, but otherwise I have no significant
complaints. Audio is stellar as well, with the moody Jim Dooley score blending
well with the dialogue and minimalist sound design. The action sequences (brief
as they are) run the risk of becoming a bit overheated, but I don't think its
significant enough to complain about. The supplements are limited to three brief
EPK-style featurettes: "Playing Nicely Together," "Dressed to
Kill," and "Girl Fight!" These are a waste of time.

Closing Statement

I wish I could recommend Obsessed as soapy fun, but the level of
idiocy on display here is simply too high. This film isn't worth obsessing
over.